Brandscendence:
Three Essential Elements of Enduring Brands, by Kevin Clark

Product Description
World-class commercial brands such as BMW, Coke, Disney, General Electric, and IBM, and even not-for-profit institutions such as the Red Cross, are on the journey to "brandscendence." They have enduring reasons for being yet adapt to changing circumstances and evolve over time.

In Brandscendence, author Kevin Clark uses success stories and case studies to illustrate his theory on the 3 essential elements enduring brands must manage:

1. Relevance. The organization’s or product’s enduring relevance to the customer
2. Context. The context in which the brand must adapt to cultural shifts or changing economic needs of customers over time
3. Mutual benefit. The turbocharged customer relationships that result from stakeholders’ perceived mutual benefit, which create goodwill to nurture future interactions-crucial in times of crisis
   

Compare and contrast BMW and the Red Cross. BMW has a recognizable phrase that captures the essence of its brand-"The Ultimate Driving Machine"-an expression about innovative personal mobility and technology leadership. The Red Cross is known around the world for providing help in emergencies and disasters to people in need without regard to borders-you might say it’s "The Ultimate Disaster Relief Experience." Both brands endure because they manage the 3 essential elements so well.

Brandscendence studies the broader role of branding and, through what Clark dubs BrandNext™, its strategic applications for the future. Chapters include industry sector analysis with exciting collaborative input from some the country’s foremost experts in business and academia who study marketing and branding.

"All thoughtful students of branding will be challenged by this creative and provocative book." -- John Lynch, Professor of Marketing, Fuqua School of Business, Duke University

"Brandscendence blends all the schools of branding to articulate the last word in branding for generations to come." -- Marc Gobé, President & CEO, Desgrippes Gobé Group, author of Emotional Branding

"Brandscendence provides a comprehensive approach to creating enduring brands by focusing on relevance, context, and mutual benefits" -- PR Week

"Executives seeking the power of branding without knowing exactly how to get it will welcome Kevin Clark’s thoughtful guide…" -- Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Harvard Business School, Author, Confidence: How Winning Streaks and Losing Streaks Begin and End

"If you're ready to dig deep into branding, this is the book for you." -- PR Week

"Kevin Clark with Brandscendence offers the most relevant, practical and enlightening treatise on the increasingly critical topic of branding." -- Chris Beaumont, President and CEO, Grey Global Group Japan

Because branding is becoming more crucial than ever, this book is a must read for anyone involved in brand strategy. -- ---Dr. G. Clotaire Rapaille's Archetype Discoveries Worldwide newsletter

Kevin A. Clark is program director for brand strategy and integrated marketing for IBM Personal Computing Devices. He is the brand steward for IBM ThinkPad notebook computers and IBM ThinkCentre desktop computers. He is also president of Content Evolution™, LLC, a content creation and strategic consulting company working with not-for-profit organizations. An established authority in his field, Clark is in demand as an international lecturer, having presented his ideas at conferences and some of the world’s foremost business schools.

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